One girl was killed and two others injured Thursday when a wall collapsed at an elementary school in the Panamanian capital, authorities said.
The accident happened before the start of classes as the three students were playing with a rope anchored to the wall that gave way, first responders said.
Declining to give his name, one parent told a television reporter he had warned the school administration that the wall posed a danger to students because it was badly built.
Education Minister Lucy Molinar expressed regret over the accident a promised a full investigation.
“But that won’t bring back the girl,” the minister added, referring to the fourth-grade student who died.
The ministry will provide the girl’s family with all necessary assistance, Molinar said.
Panama’s head of emergency services, Arturo Alvarado, also announced plans for an exhaustive probe of the accident and said the students had been evacuated pending completion of a safety inspection at the school.
